Comparisons:

Covers/own material:

own (+ co-writers)

General comments:

Far more mainstream pop than I had expected, knowing that she's played on albums by such artists as Laurie Anderson. (Neile)

i don't know much about joy's background, except that she had a few releases in the late '80s doing semi-bland pop. the only one i have is a 12" ep (remember vinyl?) called kyoto to hollywood which is all right. she was also a pretty common touring keyboardist: she joined peter gabriel as keyboardist and backup singer on the so tour and played on laurie anderson's home of the brave. She resurfaced in 1996 with tender city, on the ex-label private music. i'm kinda iffy on that record—she has a powerful voice, but a highly mannered singing and songwriting style. there are some really gorgeous songs on it though. since then, there have been an ep (gorgeous creature) and a pseudo-bootleg soundtrack (when). i've only heard the former which is all right, but have heard good things about the latter. she's much better live than on record. (woj@smoe.org)

I love everything on Gorgeous Creature and adore When. I'm not that crazy about Tender City, but it does have some beautiful songs on it, and it's wonderful to see a musician get stronger and stronger as time goes by. (JoAnn Whetsell)

Comments about live performance:

Well, I am very glad that I went to the '97 Lilith Fair because that's where I first heard Joy Askew. Joy looked and sounded great. She played a mix of old and new stuff, mostly new, with old stuff being "Gorgeous Creature," "Big Sky" and "Cool Cool Water". She played mostly guitar, but played piano on "Gorgeous Creatures" and "I'm Still Looking For a Home". I was afraid that the special guests might take away from the show, but they made beautiful harmony additions on "Cool Cool Water" and "...Home".
I really enjoyed seeing her at Joe's Pub over the summer. It was great to see Joy let loose on the rockier songs, and the Joni Mitchell covers with Joe Jackson on piano were especially beautiful. I thought that style of song really fit Joy well.
Anyway, great show. Go see her if you can. (09/99, JoAnn Whetsell)

It was my first time seeing/hearing Joy and I enjoyed her very much. Her version of Leonard Cohen's "Bird on a Wire" was devastatingly beautiful. I'd be interested in seeing her play with the piano (versus the acoustic guitar last night), which the guy sitting next to me said is even more impressive. (09/99, bravegirl@earthlink.net)

Release info:

Availability:

Ecto priority:

Produced by:

Joy Askew

Comments:

i like it quite a bit. for the most part, it's soft, atmospheric pop, with a few upbeat numbers tossed in for flavor (i.e., don't be put off by the first track, "corrine", which isn't typical of the entire album, though a pretty neat song). for those who think in comparisons: this record could be a mixture of pamela golden and wendy maharry. it's a pretty star-studded album too: aside from the aforementioned peter gabriel vocals, chris cunningham (he's played with katell keineg and is currently in the chanting house—susan mckeown's band), michelle kinney (chanting house cellist), jerry marotta, larry klein (bassist who produces a lot of others), the ubiquitous jane scarpantoni, and larry fast (synergy) all contribute. thumbs up from me. (woj@smoe.org)

This album wasn't a keeper for me. While I liked the pop rock sound of "Corrine" and the rich gospel sound of "Hands Tied Tongue Tied" (someone wondered if I was playing Praise when he heard that song), the rest of the songs were all soft pop, which does nothing for me. (Neile)

This album is another very solid effort that took a while to grow on me and doesn't have any real standout songs, but just a lot of very good ones. It uses some of the same musicians Happy Rhodes does (Jerry Marotta, for example), and in many ways it sounds like a Happy album—not Happy's voice, of course, but the production and feel of the album. (jjhanson@att.net)

I found this in the sales bin and so I thought I'd give it a try. I haven't listened to it much yet, but so far I wonder how she managed to get so many Ecto-famous people to play on her album and yet make it so uninteresting. Of course I have to listen to it some more, but on first and second hearing I like it mostly in the background. Very soft pop, but not as interesting as Heidi Berry for example. But it might grow on further listening. (Marion)

Guest artists:

Comments:

Oh, this is sooooooo nice! It's labeled as "a collection of original songs + music for the movie When +demos from the lo-fi lounge." There are ten tracks.
"Berlin 1945" and "Strawberries" are both beautiful slow songs—perfect *soundtrack-type* music. "When" goes from a kind of haunting slow tune to a louder, more energetic musical adventure. And at the end of that song, you hear a repeating noise that sounds rather like a *pop* like we used to hear on the old vinyl records. Rhythmic handclaps performed by Alex Alexander start "The Way Young Lovers Do." The other songs are great, too.... In addition to the wonderful slow stuff, Joy can get rather "wild" sometimes. I can't even begin to describe this stuff, so I won't. I *do* like it better than either of Joy's other two albums (Tender City and Gorgeous Creature EP). Highly, highly, highly recommended!!!! (Riphug@aol.com)

Produced by:

Joy Askew; Ricky Fataar co-producer (2, 4, 6, 8-10)

Comments:

The Pirate of Eel Pie doesn't really break any new ground, but it's a good, strong album (highlights are "Hip These Days" and "Jack Kerouac"), and it's really nice to have new music from Joy again. (JoAnn Whetsell)

Guest artists:

Produced by:

Joy Askew

Comments:

I really enjoy this album. It's a stronger set than The Pirate of Eel Pie, which I also like but find uneven. Drunk on You has great pop all the way through with some interesting influences I can't quite finger ("All the Little Birds" has a retro jazz/blues sound, for example). (JoAnn Whetsell)

Further info:

Joy Askew contributed "Lake Calhoun" to the 2004 album Little Noises, poems by Marcia Pelletiere set to music. She and Frank Carillo performed the title track for Rise, a 2011 film commissioned by U.S. Figure Skating to celebrate American figure skating while commemorating the 50th anniversary and legacy of the 1961 U.S. World Team tragedy.

DISCLAIMER: Comments and reviews in the Ectophiles' Guide are excerpted from the ecto mailing list or volunteered by members of the list. They are the opinions of music enthusiasts, not professional music critics.

Entry last updated 2017-10-14 12:42:44.
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